Combat session ended for the classes and they went back continuing the day by attending the rest of their classes. They had ten subjects to study in total which they did Monday to Friday and extra classes on Saturdays and free day's on Sundays in most cases. School days continued as everyone adjusted. In classes Ash did his best staying close to Lynx as he still had difficulty understanding, reading and writing. At first when Lynx started his other classes he was picked on the most by his teachers and others didn't care about him since they knew he only got in the academy because of Trigan.
In classes like Engineering or Mechanics where students had to use scrap materials to create gadgets or things from the given task Lynx had surpassed everyone. Even though he wasn't good at writing or reading he could create anything if he knew what needed to be done. He couldn't write the plan words, but he could create the diagrams to show the steps he took. It wasn't very practical to his teachers as Lynx's diagrams seemed sloppy and lacked information depth. All the teachers could see were weird scribbles, but none the less the inventions he crafted were remarkable.
His advancements were truly extraordinary, but even though he was his teachers only snared at him and gave no credit. They knew with talent like his he deserved acknowledgment, but because of birth differences and status no one cared how talented he was.
Many of the students formed bonds and could understood their teachers. On another day when most students were sleeping or studying, Quil woke up early in the morning at 1:20 am because he couldn't sleep and no matter how he twisted and turned he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Since his attempts were of no use he decided it was best to use the time and do something productive as staying in bed staring at the ceiling accomplished nothing. He lightly dressed and left the dorm room. He made his way to a training room and started exercising and training his body. He was mostly a quiet person, who hardly spoke and did nothing but study and train, he had one goal and he would make it a reality.
Lynx walked into the training room as his body felt weird and he felt agitated, Quil saw Lynx entering the room and noticed the boy was from his class. Regardless of who he was he said nothing and turned away minding his own business. Quil sat down as he reviewed his score on a tablet pad. Lynx approached Quil slowly stopping in front of him, looking down and Quil was still avoiding to look at him, but then Quil thought Lynx presence was getting annoying and then he finally spoke.
"Do you need something?" he asked masking his vexness.
"Why do you train so much?" Lynx asked in a flatly, mirroring Quil's stiff expression.
"It's a dream". Quil didn't planned on answering, but it was the first time someone asked him a question that only related to him and then he checked his scores again.
"What might that dream be?"
Quil looked at Lynx and refrained from answering as he didn't planned on diving into an emotional conversation. Since Quil wasn't answering, Lynx started to suggest answers.
"Do you seek power, revenge, money, status? Are you trying to protect someone or kill someone who's being protected?"
"You're human so which of the above is it?" Lynx asked. He couldn't remember but he was certain he'd heard the words before. Looking at Quil intensively as he was waiting, longing for an answering as reached his hand towards Quil. Quil listened to the boy before him, but instead of answering right away he waited for a moment.
"No" Quil answered and Lynx retreated his hand.
"Oh" was Lynx's response as he placed his hand to his side. "Just like this damn brat" Lynx said cursing inwardly turning to walk away.
"I train to be respected. It's a long story, but yeah, that's mostly it" Quil answered with confidence, but also with hidden sadness. "What about you? You're from the steam house, you can hardly transform, not very smart, and has little to no core power. So why are you here?" Quil asked suddenly feeling a tat of interest.
"What a blunt being"
"I'm here for something, everything or maybe nothing. But I'm not sure what he wants" Lynx said as he lowered his voice to a whispered as he said the last part, but Quil heard.
"Who's he?" Quil questioned. Lynx snapped back to his senses and looked at Quil as he turned his head from side to side slowly looking around with uncertainty, he could feel a light throb at the side of his head.
"Huh?" Lynx simply walked away not saying anything. Lynx then punched the machine as he felt the urge to and walked away without saying anything or checking his score. Quil thought his actions were strange so with curiosity he walked over to check Lynx's score and the machine only displayed zero, he found the outcome strange walking away without thinking anymore as he now felt tired. Ever since that day Quil and Lynx's relation slowly knitted into a slow making friendship. They hardly had any conversations or meetings but they felt fondness.
A month ended and in came October when all the students were on edge as they knew what was ahead. During the first few days the students studied and practice consistently, there was no room for breaks as they all needed to pass the trail ahead. October 6th all students woke up extra early gathering in front of the school. October 6th was the day when all first years had an exam that would last for three days from the 6th to the 8th.
The exam was a solo based exam, but if the students felt pleased they could form groups if they found it essential. Most students would rather do the exam solo since having a group might cause conflict especially when it came to point distributions, and having multiple people at one location might slow them down. All the students had to wear their suits as it could be easily identified, the objective of the exam was to gain points by solving the given clues.
First everyone would receive a clue and then they would have to solve it, upon solving the clue they would be led somewhere where they would meet their practitioner and would be given a question from a choice of subject or they would fight until the practitioner was satisfied. If they chose the subject the questions would be harder, but if they asked for a random subject chances were they might get the subject they are weakest at, so either way there wasn't an easy route. After they completed the question or the match they would receive a card that they would scan to unlock other point areas. They would also receive a second card that would be scanned calculating into points.
The day of the exam was present and all the first years gathered in one area awaiting instructions. As they stood idly by a woman stood front stage and everyone drifted to silence waiting for her to speak.
"Good morning to you all, as I'm sure you all are aware that today marks the first day of your exams. There aren't much rules, but I'll tell you what is expected of you. Firstly there will be no transforming or using your Robotic power what's so ever. Secondly it's acceptable to take points from others and last you are to remain within the exam zone. If you leave the zone you'll be disqualified immediately. I think that concludes everything if there is anything else it'll be updated to your wristwatch" the woman explained before walking away.
At 9:00 am everyone was given a clue and not a second was wasted as they sprang into action, few who had friends joined together and others went their separate ways. Ash grouped with Lynx as he still carrying the responsibility of looking after him. Ash thought it was better to head off school grounds since everyone would be running to the closest point areas and so he decided it was best to head to the city, but he wasn't the only person with such thoughts as few other students also made their way to the city. Ash was running to the gate along with Lynx when they were joined by Quil.
Ash was aware of their abnormal relationship that was slowly adding in makes and he felt slightly satisfied that Lynx was making friends. After a few minutes they reached the city and Ash was contemplating his next move. He looked at Lynx's pale, expressionless face and he already thought Lynx was a dumb person, and then he looked at Quil who was not much different, a read less expression and quiet. Quil was also sometimes easily distracted by things around him. He didn't care about learning anything about them since he had one goal and one goal only and he didn't have time to think about others.
They reached the city that was busy as usual as vehicles hovered pass or people moving about. Ash was sure there were students in the city too so he didn't have the luxury of wasting time. While he was coming up with multiple scenarios in his head Quil and Lynx were gazing at the many attractions in the city. Ash looked at them both before sighing and holding his head as he felt a slight headache by simply seeing them. Ash thought if he brought them along with him they might slow him down.
He brought their attention to him as he explained his plan, he decided he would head out first to open other point areas and then they would go together and collect them and while doing so they could battle others and collect points. Quil and Lynx only nodded in response as they stood in place, even though Ash thought it was for the best he was still unsure about leaving them unattended. But he pushed such thoughts away and ran off. As he was running he took one last glance behind him and saw Quil and Lynx simply looking back at him.
They were standing for about a minute since Ash had left and that's when they received a notification informing everyone that someone had fifty points. Quil turned to Lynx as he spoke with his statue figure.
"Do you think we should collect points too?" Quil asked implying they should. In response Lynx who nodded.
They picked a point area that was within range and they both made their way there. They approached the point area which was a tall skyscraper located on the left side of the city and stood beside other buildings. The building was covered in glass from top to bottom looking very much like a mirror that reflected everything around it.
Step by step they got closer and entered the building, they walked with a fixed position as they gazed their surroundings. They entered the building through the entrance walking around, but no one said anything to them as they knew what was about to take place. The employees got ready to leave as they noticed the suits that waltz into their work place. The workers only whispered amongst their colleagues and said nothing to the appearance of the boys.
"Whelp this means it's time to leave" a man cheerfully said overjoyed he could get off work early.
"I'll say I to that" a woman responded gladly hopping to her feet with a few documents.
"Charles we're moving out"
"Got-ya. Let head to our usual spot" a man called Charles as he pointed in a direction. A group of middle aged people rushed out the building door joyfully carrying a few documents in hand. The news about the students arrival spread throughout the halls of the building like a virus spreading without a firewall to break pass. But this was a normal situation in many places now.
"Get ready everyone"
"I think we should call Carla" a woman said with an unpleasant tone as she typed on her computer aggressively with speed.
"No, just let him be, you know he looks forward to this every year and he's been pro-active ever since his retirement and marriage" a man responded in a smoothing tone as he approached the woman handing her a file.
"Easy for you to say, you have a shield. What you gonna do protect us all?" the woman questioned.
"Oh dearest no, if I was to save someone it would be myself" the man chuckled with an innocent expression before walking away.
Quil and Lynx made their way to the elevator, as they got in Lynx looked over the buttons unsuringly which to push. After Quil read the instructions he pushed the button that was needed and the elevator started ascending. After exiting the elevator they followed the map. They drew closer to their final destination. Quil noticed that they weren't far from their goal and carefully did they walk with each step that echoed.
"It's behind here" Quil spoke quietly.
Quil closed his eyes inhaling and exhaling and Lynx looked at him as he could hardly comprehend why. When Quil opened his eyes he looked more confident and determined, he pushed the button that was located on the wall and the door caved into the wall. During that very moment something that moved at a expeditious speed glazed pass them. The movement was so fast that neither Lynx nor Quil caught sight of it, but their bodies moved without their mind's consent. Lynx's body dropped to the floor, while Quil's body pulled him backwards and the gush of wind hanged to his face as it passed.
They were both lost for words as their minds processed the situation. It had happened so fast that their hearts continued with its normal rhythm as the mind didn't realize anything. Slowly they rose their heads and there they saw a man that stood over six feet and was grinning from ear to ear before a heartily laugh escaped his lips. Both boys looked at the man and knew he was responsible for the power displayed just now. Quil was certain that if they had received his punch a second ago it would have shattered all the bones in their body.